When the 2018 Winter Olympics kick off inPyeongchang, South Korea,next month, NHL players will not take part. It will markthe first time in 20 years that the league has not let playersparticipate in the Games. Here's the lowdown on where things stand and what to expect from men's hockey at this year's Olympics. Editor's note: This is an updated version of a previous FAQ that ESPN published in August.

Wait, so NHL players really aren't going to the Olympics?

Once the NHL scheduled its All-Star Game in Tampa, skipping the Olympics was essentially a done deal. The last three times NHL players went to the Games (2006, 2010, 2014), the league didn't hold a midseason showcase. There is no Olympic break baked into the 2017-18 schedule, and commissioner Gary Bettman has held firm on his stance that the league would not permit its players to go to the Games.

Bettman has addressed the issue several times over the past year. He continually calls the Games "highly disruptive," saying the league's owners were reluctant to take a 17-day break in February when they should be capitalizing on a dead period in other sports: the sweet spot, post-Super Bowl and pre-MLB spring training. Bettman also cited injury concerns from his clubs. In essence, he said, the league doesn't get much out of it. Deputy commissioner Bill Daly addressed the media at the World Junior Championships in Buffalo earlier this month, and said that he believed players "turned the page on the matter."

Well, have they?

That depends on your definition of the phrase. At last weekend's All-Star Game, NHLPA executive director Don Fehr chimed in. "If he means by turn the page they've come to terms with the fact that they're not going to Pyeongchang, I think he's right," Fehr said of Daly's comments. "If he means turn the page permanently, I have zero indication that's true." In fact, during the All-Star Game festivities, several players addressed the upcoming Olympics, includingPhiladelphia Flyerscaptain Claude Giroux. "It's a little frustrating, not just personally but for any player who had a chance to go represent his country," Giroux said. "It's a lot of guys' dream. It sucks, but what are you gonna do?"

Let's back up for a minute. How did we get to this point?

The crux of the issue is a power play between the NHL, NHLPA and the International Olympic Committee. The league wanted the IOC to make concessions, which it didn't. The NHLPA wanted the sides to get it done. This could be used as a bargaining chip between the union and the league when the current collective bargaining agreement expires after the 2021-22 season. (Each side has an opt-out clause in 2019, meaning the deal would expire in 2020). When asked last weekend how much of an emphasis the Olympic issue would be during the next CBA negotiations, Fehr said: "It's impossible to say at this point. One would like to believe, if we could ever get a long-term agreement on international [games], we'd find a way to address it."

Why didn't anyone intervene?

Four agencies tried to hash it out -- the NHL, the NHLPA, the IOC and the International Ice Hockey Federation -- with no luck. The IOC has previously funded players' travel and insurance (which, in 2014, amounted to $14 million). When the IOC took that off the table, the IIHF stepped in and offered to cover $10 million. It was a nice gesture, but it didn't resolve all of the issues, including interrupting the NHL season for three weeks. The IOC issued a statement in April saying it "feels very sorry for the athletes."

What's going to happen in 2022?

The 2022 Olympics will be in Beijing. The NHL is interested in establishing a presence in China -- the league sent the Vancouver Canucks andLos Angeles Kingsthere for preseason games in Beijing and Shanghai last September, and is planning another trip for 2019 -- but that doesn't necessarily mean the NHL is going to change its stance. "Could that circumstance change at some point in the future?" Bettman said at All-Star Weekend. "I suppose so, but it's not something we're currently contemplating." So you're telling me there's a chance!

It will include a lot of names you don't know now -- but might soon. The Americans opted for experience, primarily choosing players who were standouts in European professional leagues. Some of them are players you might remember from the NHL (like one-time 48-goal scorer Brian Gionta), while others didn't quite make it to the show (Chris Bourque, son of of Hockey Hall of Fame defensemanRay Bourque, is a longtime AHL player). There are four current college players on the roster, including Boston University's Jordan Greenway, the first African-American to represent Team USA in hockey at the Winter Olympics. Team USA decided not to play some of its rising stars who were eligible, such as 19-year-oldBuffalo Sabres prospect Casey Mittelstadt or Harvard defenseman Adam Fox (also 19).

Does Team USA have any shot to win gold?

The U.S. hasn't won gold since 1980, and with the absence of NHL players, many consider this to be a wide-open field. The Americans probably can contend for a medal, but the favorite should be Russia, which has a stacked roster of KHL talent.